Communication control device, communication control method, program, and communication control system

ABSTRACT

[Solution] There is provided a communication control device including: a communication status grasping unit configured to grasp a communication status of wireless communication of image information between an image shooting device and a surgical site image information acquiring unit on the basis of an operating room image showing a situation of an operating room, the image shooting device capturing an image of a surgical site of a patient, the surgical site image information acquiring unit acquiring information on a surgical site image captured by the image shooting device for display control of the surgical site image; and a communication method deciding unit configured to decide a communication method between the image shooting device and the surgical site image information acquiring unit on the basis of the grasped communication status.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a communication control device, acommunication control method, a program, and a communication controlsystem.

BACKGROUND ART

There is a widely used system that uses an image shooting device such asan endoscope or a microscope to capture an image of a surgical site of apatient, and allows a surgeon to perform an operation while observingthe captured image of the surgical site. The system transmitsinformation on the image captured by the image shooting device to aprocessor (video processor) that performs display control of the image,and causes the video processor to display the image on a display devicesuch as a monitor in an operating room.

The image shooting device and the video processor being for medical use,the situation has to be avoided in which the communication becomesunstable between the image shooting device and the video processor, andthe image is distorted during an operation. This is because a seriousaccident can happen if a distorted image or a disrupted image causes anoperation to stop. Stronger stability is therefore requested of thecommunication between the image shooting device and the video processorin an operating room.

For example, there is proposed a system that connects an endoscope to avideo processor through wireless communication. As a method for morestably performing communication between the endoscope and the videoprocessor in the system, it is possible to devise the disposition of thetransmitting antenna in the endoscope. There, however, are a largenumber of people and objects such as a medical staff and medical devicesin an operating room. If these people and objects enter thecommunication path between the endoscope and the video processor, theradio waves can be blocked and the normal communication can beinterrupted between the endoscope and the video processor. Even if thedisposition of the transmitting antenna is devised in the endoscope, itis difficult to completely prevent such people and objects in theoperating room from blocking the communication. The stable communicationis not always ensured.

Meanwhile, although not for medical use, the technique described, forexample, in Patent Literature 1 is proposed as a technique of moregenerally strengthening the communication stability of wirelesscommunication. Patent Literature 1 discloses the technique that in asystem in which, in a case where a mobile station detects interferenceinformation greater than or equal to predetermined reception electricfield intensity, a call channel switching request is transmitted to awireless base station, and the wireless base station transmits aninstruction of a new call channel to the mobile station in response tothe switching request, the switching request and the instruction of thenew call channel are transmitted and received in another frequency banddifferent from that of the call channel. Applying the technique to thecommunication between the image shooting device and the video processorin an operating room can make the communication more stable.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP H6-69862A

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

As described above, the image shooting device and the video processorbeing for medical use, it is unacceptable that the communication becomesunstable between the image shooting device and the video processor, andthe image is distorted during an operation. The technique of switching achannel after detecting interference information greater than or equalto predetermined reception electric field intensity, namely detectingthat communication is unstable like the technique described in PatentLiterature 1 cannot be, however, considered a technique suitable formedical use because a channel is switched after an image is distorted,or the like.

The present disclosure then proposes a novel and improved communicationcontrol device, communication control method, program, and communicationcontrol system that can more stably perform communication.

Solution to Problem

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a communicationcontrol device including: a communication status grasping unitconfigured to grasp a communication status of wireless communication ofimage information between an image shooting device and a surgical siteimage information acquiring unit on the basis of an operating room imageshowing a situation of an operating room, the image shooting devicecapturing an image of a surgical site of a patient, the surgical siteimage information acquiring unit acquiring information on a surgicalsite image captured by the image shooting device for display control ofthe surgical site image; and a communication method deciding unitconfigured to decide a communication method between the image shootingdevice and the surgical site image information acquiring unit on thebasis of the grasped communication status.

Further, according to the present disclosure, there is provided acommunication control method including, by a processor: grasping acommunication status of wireless communication of image informationbetween an image shooting device and a surgical site image informationacquiring unit on the basis of an operating room image showing asituation of an operating room, the image shooting device capturing animage of a surgical site of a patient, the surgical site imageinformation acquiring unit acquiring information on a surgical siteimage captured by the image shooting device for display control of thesurgical site image; and deciding a communication method between theimage shooting device and the surgical site image information acquiringunit on the basis of the grasped communication status.

Further, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aprogram for causing a processor of a computer to execute: a function ofgrasping a communication status of wireless communication of imageinformation between an image shooting device and a surgical site imageinformation acquiring unit on the basis of an operating room imageshowing a situation of an operating room, the image shooting devicecapturing an image of a surgical site of a patient, the surgical siteimage information acquiring unit acquiring information on a surgicalsite image captured by the image shooting device for display control ofthe surgical site image; and a function of deciding a communicationmethod between the image shooting device and the surgical site imageinformation acquiring unit on the basis of the grasped communicationstatus.

Further, according to the present disclosure, there is provided acommunication control system including: an operating room cameraconfigured to capture an operating room image showing a situation of anoperating room; an image shooting device configured to capture an imageof a surgical site of a patient; and a communication control deviceincluding a surgical site image information acquiring unit configured toacquire information on a surgical site image captured by the imageshooting device for display control of the surgical site image, acommunication status grasping unit configured to grasp a communicationstatus of wireless communication of image information between the imageshooting device and the surgical site image information acquiring uniton the basis of the operating room image, and a communication methoddeciding unit configured to decide a communication method between theimage shooting device and the surgical site image information acquiringunit on the basis of the grasped communication status.

According to the present disclosure, the communication status of thewireless communication of image information is grasped, on the basis ofan operating room image showing the situation of an operating room,between an image shooting device that captures an image of a surgicalsite of a patient and a display control device that performs displaycontrol of a surgical site image captured by the image shooting device.A communication method between the image shooting device and the displaycontrol device is then decided on the basis of the grasped communicationstatus. It is thus possible to more stably perform communication betweenthe image shooting device and the display control device.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possibleto more stably perform communication. Note that the effects describedabove are not necessarily limitative. With or in the place of the aboveeffects, there may be achieved any one of the effects described in thisspecification or other effects that may be grasped from thisspecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of acommunication control system according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a more detailed configuration of thecommunication control system according to the first embodiment. [FIG. 3]FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of afunctional configuration of the communication control system accordingto the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for describing a function of a videoprocessor illustrated in FIG. 3 in more detail.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for describing a communication statusgrasping process executed by a communication status grasping unit in thefirst embodiment in more detail.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedureof a communication control method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for describing a communication statusgrasping process executed by a communication status grasping unit in asecond embodiment in more detail.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedureof a communication control method according to the second embodiment.

MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, (a) preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure willbe described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. In thisspecification and the appended drawings, structural elements that havesubstantially the same function and structure are denoted with the samereference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structuralelements is omitted.

The description will be now made in the following order.

1. Consideration of General Technique 2. First Embodiment 2-1.Configuration of Communication Control System 2-2. FunctionalConfiguration of Communication Control System 2-3. Details ofCommunication Status Grasping Process 2-4. Communication Control Method3. Second Embodiment 3-1. Details of Communication Status GraspingProcess 3-2. Communication Control Method 4. Modifications 4-1.Modification of Decision Process of Communication Method 4-2.Modification of Position for Disposing Operating Room Camera 4-3.Notification of Communication Path 5. Supplemental Information 1.CONSIDERATION OF GENERAL TECHNIQUE

Before an embodiment of the present disclosure is described, a result ofthe present inventors' consideration of the existing general techniquewill be described. In addition, the background of the present inventorsconceiving of the present disclosure will be described.

As described above, there is a widely used system that uses an imageshooting device such as an endoscope or a microscope to capture an imageof a surgical site of a patient, and allows a surgeon to perform anoperation while watching the captured image of the surgical site(surgical site image). The system transmits image information (surgicalsite image information) on a surgical site from the image shootingdevice to a video processor, and causes the video processor to displaythe surgical site image on a display device such as a monitor in anoperating room.

Generally, the image shooting device and the video processor communicatewith each other through wired communication in many cases. However, in acase where wired communication is used, the image shooting device in aclean area is connected to the video processor in an unclean area by acable or the like. Accordingly, more attention has to be paid tomaintain the clean area. Further, a heavy load is imposed to sterilizethe cable. Moreover, the installation of the cable on the floor caninterfere with a medical staff moving in the operating room. Further,there is a concern that the presence of the cable imposes a heavier loadon a doctor who operates the image shooting device. Moreover, the cablecan interfere with the field of view of a surgeon watching the displaydevice.

There is then a technique developed that connects the image shootingdevice to the video processor through wireless communication. The imageshooting device and the video processor being for medical use, it isunacceptable that the communication becomes unstable between the imageshooting device and the video processor during an operation, and theimage is distorted. The communication between the image shooting deviceand the video processor is thus required to be more stable.

The operating room is, however, dotted with a large medical staff, avariety of medical devices, deployment tables (Mayo tables) on whichinstruments used for operations are placed, and the like. Further, thesepeople and objects can move and be moved during an operation, and thepositions thereof are not fixed. For example, if these people andobjects enter a communication path between the image shooting device andthe video processor, the transmission and reception of the radio wavescan be interrupted between the image shooting device and the videoprocessor, and it can be impossible to stably display the image.

Meanwhile, although not for medical use, the technique described, forexample, in Patent Literature 1 is disclosed from the perspective ofmore generally strengthening the communication stability of wirelesscommunication. The technique described in Patent Literature 1 supports,as it were, a technique of selecting a communication path that allowsfor more stable communication from communication paths. The presentinventors have considered a case where the technique described in PatentLiterature 1 is applied to the communication between the image shootingdevice and the video processor in an operating room.

The technique described in Patent Literature 1 targets not relativelysmall space such as an operating room, but more wide space such asswitching wireless base stations for mobile phones. Thus, the techniqueas described is not always applied to communication in an operatingroom. Further, as described above, the image shooting device and thevideo processor being for medical use, the situation has to be avoidedin which the communication becomes unstable between the image shootingdevice and the video processor, and the image is distorted during anoperation. The technique of detecting unstable communication, and thenswitching communication path like the technique Patent Literature 1 isnot suitable for medical use from this point of view.

As another method of switching communication paths to make communicationmore stable, it is possible to conceive of a method that, in a casewhere, for example, the video processor includes receiving antennas,monitors the reception strength of the communicating receiving antennasand the quality of the received radio waves, thereby switchingcommunication paths to use more stable receiving antennas. The methodcannot, however, avoid the distortion or blocking of a surgical siteimage like the technique described in Patent Literature 1 becausecommunication paths are switched after the reception strength or thequality of the received radio waves decreases.

Here, the recent improvement of the performance of image sensors and theimage processing techniques has allowed a surgical site image capturedby the image shooting device to have higher resolution. The higherresolution of a surgical site image increases the amount ofcommunication data from the image shooting device to the videoprocessor. Faster communication is required between the image shootingdevice and the video processor. It is then conceivable to performcommunication by using radio waves of, for example, a relatively highfrequency band of some 60 (GHz), which is referred to as millimeterwaves.

The use of high frequency bands for wireless communication allows forfaster information transfer. Radio waves of a high frequency band,however, have the strong property of traveling straight. Accordingly, ifthere is an obstacle that blocks the radio waves in a communication pathbetween the image shooting device and the video processor, there is ahigh probability that the communication breaks off. In this way, thehigher resolution of a surgical site image in recent years has caused anobstacle in a communication path to have greater influence on thecommunication.

It is possible to reduce the amount of communication data from the imageshooting device to the video processor, for example, by compressing andthen transmitting a surgical site image. The use of the method allowsfor communication with radio waves of a lower frequency band, resultingin a weaker possibility that the above-described obstacle in thecommunication path interferes with the communication.

The compression of a surgical site image can, however, cause a decreasein the quality of the image or delay in display. Since a surgeonadministers various kinds of treatment while watching the surgical siteimage displayed on the display device, such a decrease in the quality ofthe image or delay in display can interrupt the surgeon smoothlyperforming an operation. The method of compressing a surgical siteimage, and then transmitting the surgical site image is not thereforefavorable for medical use because the method can cause a decrease in thequality of the image or delay in display. Although the technique can befound that compresses image information with less delay, such acompression process requires a relatively high-performance processor.The processor and a component such as a battery for driving theprocessor therefore have to be provided in the image shooting device.The image shooting device can be thus bigger, resulting in the lessoperability of a medical staff operating the image shooting device.

The result of the present inventors' consideration of the existinggeneral technique has been described above. As described above, it ispreferable that the image shooting device wirelessly communicate withthe video processor in an operating room because of the inconvenience ofthe presence of a cable. There are, however, a large number of peopleand objects in the operating room. These people and objects can serve asobstacles on a communication path between the image shooting device andthe video processor, and it can be impossible to perform stablecommunication. The higher resolution of a surgical site image in recentyears especially develops the demand for wireless communication thatuses radio waves of high frequency bands, which have the strongerproperty of traveling straight. There is no ignoring the influence ofsuch obstacles on the communication.

Being for medical use, which does not permit an image that is distortedor breaks off, the method for detecting unstable communication, and thenswitching the communication path to a more stable communication path,for example, like the technique described in Patent Literature 1 doesnot sufficiently secure stable communication.

In view of the above-described consideration, the communication of imageinformation in an operating room is particularly required to be morestable because of medical use. It seems difficult for the existingtechnique to achieve this strong stability. The present inventorsdiligently studied the technique of allowing for more stablecommunication on the basis of the above-described result of theconsideration of the existing technique. As a result, the presentinventors have conceived of the following embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The following describes, in detail, a preferred embodimentof the present disclosure of which the present inventors have conceived.

2. FIRST EMBODIMENT

A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.Additionally, the following describes, as examples of the firstembodiment and the following second embodiment, a case where the imageshooting device that captures an image of a surgical site of a patientis an endoscope. The present embodiment is not, however, limited to theexample. The image shooting device may be another device such as amicroscope (operating microscope) for capturing an image of a surgicalsite.

(2-1. Configuration of Communication Control System)

The configuration of a communication control system according to thefirst embodiment of the present disclosure will be described withreference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the schematicconfiguration of the communication control system according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates that a communication control system 1 according tothe first embodiment includes an endoscope 10, at least one relay 20, avideo processor 30, and an operating room camera 40.

The endoscope 10 is an example of an image shooting device that capturesan image of a surgical site of a patient. The endoscope 10 has afunction of wirelessly transmitting image information. The endoscope 10transmits information on the captured surgical site image to the videoprocessor 30. Although not illustrated, the endoscope 10 includes anantenna for transmitting the surgical site image information. The videoprocessor 30 displays the surgical site image on a display device (notillustrated) such as a monitor provided in an operating room. Whilewatching the surgical site image displayed on the display device, asurgeon performs various kinds of treatment on the surgical site.

The relay 20 has a function of wirelessly transmitting and receiving thesurgical site image information. The relay 20 relays the communicationbetween the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30. In the firstembodiment, the surgical site image information may be directlytransmitted from the endoscope 10 to the video processor 30, ortransmitted from the endoscope 10 to the video processor 30 via any ofthe relays 20. FIG. 1 illustrates only one of the relays 20 for the sakeof simplicity, but some of the relays 20 may be installed in fact.Communication paths may be accordingly established.

In the first embodiment, for example, the radio waves referred to asmillimeter waves of a frequency band of some 60 (GHz) are used for thecommunication between the endoscope 10, the relay 20, and the videoprocessor 30. The use of millimeter waves allows for fastercommunication. Accordingly, for example, in a case where the endoscope10 can capture a surgical site image having high resolution, thesurgical site image information can be transmitted with almost no delay.

A variety of known communication standards may be used for the standardof wireless communication that uses millimeter waves. For example,WirelessHD (registered trademark) or the like can be used for wirelesscommunication for transferring image information with millimeter waves.Further, not limited to the transfer use of image information, forexample, what complies with a standard such as IEEE 802.11ad, WiGig(registered trademark), or TGad (registered trademark) may be used forwireless communication that uses millimeter waves.

The first embodiment is not, however, limited to the example. Wirelesscommunication of other frequency bands may be used for the communicationbetween the endoscope 10, the relay 20, and the video processor 30.Embodiments in which wireless communication of these other frequencybands is used will be described again below in (4-1. Modification ofDecision Process of Communication Method) in detail.

Additionally, a communication path means a path for transmittingsurgical site image information between the endoscope 10 and the videoprocessor 30 in the first embodiment and the following secondembodiment. In a case where only one of the relays 20 is provided asillustrated in FIG. 1, there are two communication paths: acommunication path for directly transmitting surgical site imageinformation from the endoscope 10 to the video processor 30; and acommunication path for transmitting surgical site image information fromthe endoscope 10 to the video processor 30 via the relay 20.

Further, a communication path also means space through which the radiowaves of surgical site image information actually pass in the first andsecond embodiments. In a case where millimeter waves are used for thecommunication between the endoscope 10, the relay 20, and the videoprocessor 30 as described above, the communication paths can be createdin the substantially straight area that connects the antennas of thecommunicating devices. This is because radio waves of high frequencybands such as millimeter waves are known to have the strong property oftraveling straight.

The operating room camera 40 captures an operating room image showingthe situation of an operating room. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates animage capturing range 403 of the operating room camera 40. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the operating room camera 40 is installed toinclude the antenna of the endoscope 10 and the antenna of the relay 20at least within the image capturing range 403. For example, theoperating room camera 40 is favorably installed on the ceiling of theoperating room to look down on the operating room. Information(operating room image information) on the operating room image capturedby the operating room camera 40 is transmitted to the video processor30.

Additionally, the video processor 30 performs wired communication withthe operating room camera 40. The video processor 30 and the operatingroom camera 40 can be both installed in unclean areas. Even if the videoprocessor 30 is connected to the operating room camera 40 by a cable,the presence of the cable does not require so many workloads to maintainclean areas. Further, the operating room camera 40 is installed at ahigh position such as the ceiling of the operating room. Accordingly,the cable is less likely to interfere with the movement of a medicalstaff or the like than a cable laid on the floor. The first embodimentis not, however, limited to the example. The video processor 30 may alsowirelessly communicate with the operating room camera 40.

The video processor 30 is an example of a display control device thatperforms control to display a surgical site image captured by theendoscope 10 on the display device. Although not illustrated, the videoprocessor 30 includes an antenna for receiving the surgical site imageinformation. The video processor 30 includes a variety of processingcircuits such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signalprocessor (DSP), and a graphics processing unit (GPU). These processingcircuits operate in accordance with predetermined programs to realizethe functions of the video processor.

The video processor 30 may have a variety of functions of a generaldisplay control device. For example, the video processor 30 may have afunction of performing general image processing on image informationsuch as adjusting brightness and luminance. The video processor 30 mayalso perform various kinds of image processing on surgical site imageinformation transmitted from the endoscope 10, and then display thesurgical site image on the display device.

Further, the video processor 30 controls the communication of surgicalsite image information in the communication control system 1 in thefirst embodiment. Specifically, the video processor 30 grasps thecommunication status between the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30itself on the basis of an operating room image captured by the operatingroom camera 40. The video processor 30 then decides a communicationmethod between the endoscope 10 and the video processor on the basis ofthe grasped communication status. In this way, the video processor 30 isa display control device, and also functions as a communication controldevice. Additionally, the detailed functions of the video processor 30will be described again below in (2-2. Functional Configuration ofCommunication Control System).

Here, the configuration of the communication control system 1 accordingto the first embodiment will be described in more detail with referenceto FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the more detailedconfiguration of the communication control system 1 according to thefirst embodiment. FIG. 2 illustrates an overhead view of a configurationexample of the communication control system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 andactually installed in an operating room.

FIG. 2 illustrates that a patient 503 lies down on an operating table505. The operating table 505 is surrounded by a medical staff 501 suchas doctors and nurses. The place of the medical staff 501 move as neededduring an operation.

The operating table 505 is further surrounded by other objects such as aMayo table 507 on which surgical instruments are placed. Further,although not illustrated, the operating table 505 can be surrounded by avariety of medical devices such as a measurement device used for anoperation to measure the vital signs of a patient. The places of theMayo table 507 and these medical devices can also be moved as neededduring an operation.

Objects such as the medical staff 501 and the Mayo table 507 can blockthe radio waves between the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30 inan operating room, and obstruct the communication. The following alsorefers to objects such as the medical staff 501 and the Mayo table 507that can obstruct the communication as obstacles in a case where theobjects have to be distinguished from other objects.

The lens barrel of the endoscope 10 is inserted into a body cavity ofthe patient 503, and the endoscope 10 captures an image of a surgicalsite in the body cavity in an endoscopic operation. The endoscope 10 isheld by a medical specialist referred to as scopist during an operation.

The relays 20 are disposed at different positions in an operating room.In the illustrated example, the four relays 20 are disposed around theoperating table 505, and the one relay 20 is also disposed on the headof the scopist. The positions of the four relays 20 provided around theoperating table 505 are, for example, fixed Meanwhile, needless to say,the one relay 20 provided on the head of the scopist can move inaccordance with the movement of the scopist. In this way, the positionfor disposing the relay 20 is decided in advance. The relay 20 does nothave to change the position during an operation, or may also be disposedin a place such as the head of a member of the medical staff 501 thatcan move during an operation.

The positions for disposing the relays 20 and the number of relays 20 tobe disposed are not limited to the example. Any number of relays 20 maybe disposed at any positions. For example, any number of relays 20 maybe disposed at any positions such as the operating table 505, theceiling of the operating room, or the body of another member of themedical staff. In a case where the relay 20 is disposed at a relativelyhigh position such as the ceiling or the head of a member of the medicalstaff 501, another object is less likely to interfere with the relay 20transmitting and receiving radio waves. Accordingly, it is possible tofurther enhance the stability of the communication path via the relay20.

A surgical site image captured by the endoscope 10 is transmitted to thevideo processor 30 directly or via the relay 20. The video processor 30displays the surgical site image on the display device provided in theoperating room. The video processor 30 may be disposed at any positionin the operating room. The video processor 30 is, however, disposed at aposition at which the video processor 30 can communicate with at leastany one of the endoscope 10 or the relay 20.

The operating room camera 40 is disposed to include the antenna of theendoscope 10 and the antennas of the relays 20 at least within in theimage capturing range 403. The operating room camera 40 is favorablydisposed on the ceiling of the operating room. The operating room camera40 may be disposed at the position right above the space including theendoscope 10 and the relays 20, or the position obliquely looking downon the space. An operating room image captured by the operating roomcamera 40 is transmitted to the video processor 30 through wired orwireless communication. The video processor 30 performs a process ofcontrolling the communication of the surgical site image information inthe communication control system 1 on the basis of the operating roomimage.

The configuration of the communication control system 1 according to thefirst embodiment has been described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and2.

(2-2. Functional Configuration of Communication Control System)

The functional configuration of the communication control system 1according to the first embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example ofthe functional configuration of the communication control system 1according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 corresponds to theillustration showing the functions of each device in the communicationcontrol system 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 as functional blocks. Eachfunction illustrated as a functional block is realized by processingcircuits such as a CPU, a DSP, and a GPU each provided in the endoscope10, the relay 20, the video processor 30, and the operating room camera40 operating in accordance with predetermined programs. Among arrowsindicating the transmission and reception of information, FIG. 3illustrates a one-dot arrow to indicate the transmission and receptionof information through wireless communication, and a solid arrow toindicate the transmission and reception of information through wiredcommunication.

FIG. 3 illustrates that the endoscope 10 includes a surgical site imageinformation transmitting unit 101 as a function thereof. The surgicalsite image information transmitting unit 101 has a function ofwirelessly transmitting information on an image of a surgical site of apatient captured by the endoscope 10 to the following surgical siteimage information acquiring unit 305 of the video processor 30 and thefollowing surgical site image information transmitting and receivingunit 201 of the relay 20 via a transmitting antenna provided to theendoscope 10.

The relay 20 includes the surgical site image information transmittingand receiving unit 201 as a function thereof. The surgical site imageinformation transmitting and receiving unit 201 has a function ofwirelessly receiving surgical site image information transmitted fromthe surgical site image information transmitting unit 101 of theendoscope 10 via a transmitting and receiving antenna provided to therelay 20, and wirelessly transmitting the surgical site imageinformation to the following surgical site image information acquiringunit 305 of the video processor 30.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, there are a communication path fordirectly transmitting surgical site image information from the endoscope10 to the video processor 30, and a communication path for transmittingsurgical site image information from the endoscope 10 to the videoprocessor 30 via any of the relays 20. In this way, the number ofcommunication paths can be decided in accordance with the number ofrelays 20 to be provided to the communication control system 1. Thewireless channels corresponding to the respective communication pathsare set for the video processor 30 in advance. The video processor 30has a function of selecting a communication path for acquiring surgicalsite image information by switching the wireless channels (i.e.,function of selecting through which communication path the radio wavesto be used propagate through any of the communication paths).

The operating room camera 40 includes an operating room imageinformation transmitting unit 401 as a function thereof. The operatingroom image information transmitting unit 401 has a function oftransmitting, in a wired manner, information on an operating room imagecaptured by the operating room camera 40 and showing the situation ofthe operating room to the following communication status grasping unit301 of the video processor 30. The operating room image includes theantenna of the endoscope 10 and the antennas of the relays 20 disposedin the operating room at least within the image.

The video processor 30 includes the communication status grasping unit301, a communication method deciding unit 303, and the surgical siteimage information acquiring unit 305 as functions thereof. Thecommunication status grasping unit 301 grasps the communication statusbetween the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30 on the basis of anoperating room image captured by the operating room camera 40.Specifically, the communication status grasping unit 301 grasps theenvironment of a communication path between the endoscope 10 and thevideo processor 30, such as the stability of the communication in thecommunication path, as the communication status.

More specifically, the communication status grasping unit 301 detectsthe positions of antennas forming the communication path, namely theposition of the antenna of the endoscope 10 and the positions of theantenna of the relay 20 which transmit and receive radio waves, on thebasis of an operating room image. In a case where the relay 20 can bemoved on the head of a member of the medical staff 501 or the like, thecommunication status grasping unit 301 also detects the position of themoving relay 20 on the basis of the operating room image. A variety ofknown image analysis techniques that detect a predetermined object froman image can be used for a process of detecting the position of theantenna of the endoscope 10 and the position of the antenna of the relay20 on the basis of an operating room image. The details will not be thusdescribed.

Here, in the first embodiment, when the video processor 30 is installed,the position information of the antenna of the video processor 30 isinput in advance to a storage device (such as a storage device in thevideo processor 30) that the communication status grasping unit 301 canaccess. The communication status grasping unit 301 can thus detect acommunication path between the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30on the basis of the position information of the antenna of the videoprocessor 30, and the position of the position of the antenna of theendoscope 10 and the position of the antenna of the relay 20 detected onthe basis of an operating room image. For example, the communicationstatus grasping unit 301 detects communication paths as a substantiallystraight line connecting the antenna of the endoscope 10 to the antennaof the relay 20, a substantially vertical line connecting the antenna ofthe endoscope 10 to the antenna of the video processor 30, and/or asubstantially straight line connecting the antenna of the relay 20 tothe antenna of the video processor 30. Additionally, in a case where theendoscope 10, the relay 20, and/or the video processor 30 includeantennas, the communication status grasping unit 301 detects or acquiresthe respective positions of the antennas and detects communication pathsfor the respective antennas.

In a case where the video processor 30 is included in an operating roomimage, the communication status grasping unit 301 may acquire positioninformation of the antenna of the video processor 30 by detecting theposition of the antenna of the video processor 30 on the basis of theoperating room image.

Moreover, the communication status grasping unit 301 detects theposition of an object (obstacle) such as the medical staff 501 or theMayo table 507 in an operating room illustrated in FIG. 2 that canobstruct communication, on the basis of an operating room image. Thecommunication status grasping unit 301 then grasps the communicationstatus of each communication path on the basis of the positionalrelationship between the communication path and the obstacle in theoperating room. For example, in a case where there is an obstacle on acommunication path, the communication status grasping unit 301determines that the stability of the communication in the communicationpath is weak. Meanwhile, for example, in a case where there is noobstacle on a communication path, the communication status grasping unit301 determines that the stability of the communication in thecommunication path is strong.

The communication status grasping unit 301 provides the communicationmethod deciding unit 303 with information on the grasped communicationstatus of each communication path, namely information on the stabilityof the communication.

The communication method deciding unit 303 decides a communicationmethod between the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30 on the basisof the grasped communication status between the endoscope 10 and thevideo processor 30 by the communication status grasping unit 301.Specifically, for example, as described above, the communication statusbetween the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30 means the stabilityof the communication in a communication path between the endoscope 10and the video processor 30. The communication method deciding unit 303selects a communication path that allows for more stable communicationfrom communication paths as a communication method on the basis ofinformation on the stability of the communication in each communicationpath. The communication path that allows for more stable communicationmeans a communication path having no obstacle thereon in other words.

The communication method deciding unit 303 provides information on theselected communication path to the surgical site image informationacquiring unit 305.

The surgical site image information acquiring unit 305 switches wirelesschannels to receive a surgical site image by using the radio wavespassing through the communication path selected by the communicationmethod deciding unit 303. The surgical site image information is thenacquired from the endoscope 10 by using the radio waves passing throughthe communication path. The communication path selected by thecommunication method deciding unit 303 is a communication path that hasno obstacle thereon, and allows for stable communication. The surgicalsite image information acquiring unit 305 can therefore more stablyacquire the surgical site image.

The video processor 30 includes a display control unit (not illustrated)as a function thereof. The surgical site image acquired by the surgicalsite image information acquiring unit 305 is displayed by the displaycontrol unit on the display device in an operating room. The surgicalsite image more stably acquired by the surgical site image informationacquiring unit 305 is displayed on the display device. The surgical siteimage can be hereby displayed on the display device without beingdistorted or breaking off. It is then possible to prevent a deficientimage from interrupting with an operation.

The above-described series of processes performed by the communicationstatus grasping unit 301, the communication method deciding unit 303,and the surgical site image information acquiring unit 305 is repeatedlyexecuted at predetermined intervals. This keeps a more stablecommunication path selected, and always stably transmits a surgical siteimage to the video processor 30 through the communication path.

Here, the functions (the communication status grasping unit 301, thecommunication method deciding unit 303, and the surgical site imageinformation acquiring unit 305) of the video processor 30 illustrated inFIG. 3 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4is an explanatory diagram for describing a function of the videoprocessor 30 illustrated in FIG. 3 in more detail.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the endoscope 10, relays 20 a to 20 c,and the video processor 30. FIG. 4 also simulatively illustratescommunication paths i to iv by solid arrows. Further, the medical staff501 is illustrated in an operating room.

The communication path i is a communication path directly extending fromthe endoscope 10 to the video processor 30. The communication path ii isa communication path extending from the endoscope 10 to the videoprocessor 30 via the relay 20 a. The communication path iii is acommunication path extending from the endoscope 10 to the videoprocessor 30 via the relay 20 b. The communication path iv is acommunication path extending from the endoscope 10 to the videoprocessor 30 via the relay 20 c. As described above, the communicationpaths i to iv can be schematically represented as substantially straightlines connecting devices (more specifically, the antennas of devices) assimulatively illustrated in FIG. 4 in communication that uses millimeterwaves because of the strong property of traveling straight.

The communication status grasping unit 301 illustrated in FIG. 3 detectsthe position of the antenna of the endoscope 10, the positions of theantennas of the relays 20 a to 20 c and the position of the medicalstaff 501 on the basis of an operating room image in the firstembodiment. Further, the position of the antenna of the video processor30 is provided in advance as known information. The communication statusgrasping unit 301 grasps the communication statuses in communicationpaths i to iv on the basis of the detected position of the antenna ofthe endoscope 10, the detected positions of the antennas of the relays20 a to 20 c and the detected position of the medical staff 501, and theposition of the antenna of the video processor 30, which is provided inadvance.

In a case where a member of the medical staff 501 is at a position 517a, there is no obstacle on any of the communication paths i to iv in theexample illustrated in FIG. 4. The communication status grasping unit301 thus determines that the communication status is stable in any ofthe communication paths i to iv. In this case, the communication methoddeciding unit 303 illustrated in FIG. 3 can select any communicationpath from the communication paths i to iv on the basis of a result ofthe determination made by the communication status grasping unit 301.The surgical site image information acquiring unit 305 illustrated inFIG. 3 then acquires a surgical site image from the endoscope 10 byusing the wireless channel corresponding to any communication pathselected by the communication method deciding unit 303 from thecommunication paths i to iv.

Here, it is assumed that the member of the medical staff 501 moves fromthe position 517 a to a position 517 b. The position 517 b is a positionon the communication path iv as illustrated. In this case, thecommunication status grasping unit 301 illustrated in FIG. 3 detects thenew position 517 b of the member of the medical staff 501 from theupdated and latest operating room image along with the position of theantenna of the endoscope 10 and the positions of the antennas of therelays 20 a to 20 c. The communication status grasping unit 301 thendetermines that, among the communication paths i to iv, thecommunication statuses in communication paths i to iii are stable, butthe communication status in the communication path iv is not stable.

The communication method deciding unit 303 illustrated in FIG. 3 selectsany communication path from the communication paths i to iii that allowfor more stable communication among the communication paths i to iv, onthe basis of a result of the determination of the communication statusgrasping unit 301. The surgical site image information acquiring unit305 illustrated in FIG. 3 then acquires a surgical site image from theendoscope 10 by using the wireless channel corresponding to anycommunication path selected by the communication method deciding unit303 from the communication paths i to iii.

The configuration of the communication control system according to thefirst embodiment has been described above. As described above, accordingto the first embodiment, the position of an obstacle in a communicationpath which can obstruct the communication is detected on the basis of anoperating room image, and a communication path that does not have theobstacle therein is selected as the communication path for a surgicalsite image. It is thus possible to more stably transmit a surgical siteimage from the endoscope 10 to the video processor 30.

Since more stable wireless communication is realized between theendoscope 10 and the video processor 30 in this way according to thefirst embodiment, there is no need to perform wired communicationbetween the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30 by using a cable.Cables are dispensable between the endoscope 10 and the video processor30. It is thus possible to reduce the load on a scopist, securing asurgeon a wider field of view. Further, the efficiency and safety of anoperation are accordingly improved. Further, the absence of a cablemakes it easier to maintain a clean area, and to reduce the load forsterilizing the cable. Moreover, the movement of the medical staff isnot interrupted by the cable laid on the floor. Neither does theendoscope 10 shaken by accidental contact with the cable on the floorcause a surgical site image to blur. Accordingly, the efficiency andsafety of an operation are improved.

Here, as a different method from the method according to the presentembodiment which grasps the communication status of an operating room,it is possible to conceive of a method that attaches cameras or sensorsto a person and an object in the operating room to detect the positionsor motion of the person and object, detects the positions of the personand object in the operating room by integrating the position informationor motion information detected by those cameras or sensors, and graspsthe communication status.

The method, however, requires, as a precondition, that all the objectswhose positions to be detected be provided components such as cameras orsensors needed to detect the positions. The number of people or objectsin an operating room actually depends on, for example, the types ofoperation or the like in medical scenes. Further, people or objects canenter or leave an operating room during an operation. It is notrealistic from the perspective of increasing costs or complicatedpreparations to grasp, in advance, all the objects such as a medicalstaff, medical devices, and Mayo tables that can be in an operating roomduring an operation, and to install the component such as a camera orsensor to every object.

Meanwhile, as described above, the position of an object in an operatingroom is detected on the basis of an operating room image, and thecommunication status is grasped in the present embodiment. The operatingroom image can be acquired by a relatively simple component such as theone operating room camera 40. There is therefore no need to dolarge-scale and complicated preparations unlike the above-describedmethod. According to the present embodiment, it is thus possible tograsp the communication status with a simpler component by performing agrasping process based on an operating room image.

The operating room camera 40 is installed to include the antenna of theendoscope 10 and the antennas of the relays 20 within an operating roomimage in the above-described embodiment. The first embodiment is not,however, limited to the example. For example, the antennas of all therelays 20 do not have to be included within the image shooting range.For example, in a case where the positions of the relays 20 are fixedduring an operation, and the positions of the relays 20 in an operatingroom are known in advance, the position information of the antennas ofthe relays 20 may be input beforehand similarly to the video processor30. In this case, the communication status grasping unit 301 of thevideo processor may detect a communication path on the basis of thepositions of the antennas of the relays 20 provided in advance inaddition to the position of the antenna of the endoscope 10 and thepositions of the antennas of the relays 20 detected on the basis of anoperating room image.

Further, a specific device configuration for realizing the communicationcontrol system 1 according to the first embodiment is not limited to theexample illustrated in FIG. 3. For example, the respective functions ofthe communication status grasping unit 301, the communication methoddeciding unit 303, and the surgical site image information acquiringunit 305 of the video processor 30 do not have to be necessarilyexecuted by one device. For example, the video processor 30 merely hasthe functions of a general display control device alone, and therespective functions corresponding to the communication status graspingunit 301, the communication method deciding unit 303, and the surgicalsite image information acquiring unit 305 may be executed by anotherinformation processing device different from the video processor 30.Alternatively, the respective functions corresponding to thecommunication status grasping unit 301, the communication methoddeciding unit 303, and the surgical site image information acquiringunit 305 may be distributed in information processing devices (such asprocessors), and the devices may be communicably connected to each otherand operated in cooperation, thereby realizing the above-describedfunctions of the communication control system 1. The informationprocessing devices may be local information processing devices installednear an operating room, or information processing devices installedremotely from an operating room (what is called cloud computing).

It is possible to create a computer program for realizing the respectivefunctions of the communication control system 1 according to theabove-described first embodiment and the following second embodiment, inparticular, the respective functions corresponding to the communicationstatus grasping unit 301, the communication method deciding unit 303,and the surgical site image information acquiring unit 305, and toimplement the created computer program in a personal computer or thelike. Further, there can also be provided a computer-readable recordingmedium having such a computer program stored therein. The recordingmedium is, for example, a magnetic disk, an optical disc, amagneto-optical disk, a flash memory, or the like. Further, theabove-described computer program may be distributed, for example, via anetwork without any recording medium.

(2-3. Details of Communication Status Grasping Process)

As described with reference to FIG. 4, the communication status graspingunit 301 illustrated in FIG. 3 grasps the communication status of acommunication path in accordance with whether an obstacle is in thecommunication path. Here, a communication status grasping processexecuted by the communication status grasping unit 301 in the firstembodiment, such as a criterion for determining whether an obstacle isin a communication path, will be described in more detail with referenceto FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for describing acommunication status grasping process executed by the communicationstatus grasping unit 301 in the first embodiment in more detail.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the endoscope 10, the relay 20, and thevideo processor 30. FIG. 5 simulatively illustrates communication pathsfrom the endoscope 10 to the video processor 30 via the relay 20 bysolid arrows. Further, a member of the medical staff 501 is illustratedas an example of an obstacle in an operating room.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a predetermined area including a communicationpath is set as alerting areas 511 in the first embodiment. Specifically,the alerting area 511 is set as the areas included in a predetermineddistance from a substantially straight line connecting the wirelessinput and output points (i.e., antennas) of the respective devices on acommunication path. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the areasincluded in a predetermined distance from a substantially straight lineconnecting the antenna of the endoscope 10 to the antenna of the relay20, and a substantially straight line connecting the antenna of therelay 20 to the antenna of the video processor 30 are set as thealerting areas 511. Additionally, FIG. 5 illustrates alerting lines 509serving as the borders of the alerting areas 511 by dashed lines. Thealerting areas 511 include an area in which the presence of an objectcan actually block radio waves, and areas larger than the area are setas the alerting areas 511.

The communication status grasping unit 301 detects the position of theantenna of the endoscope 10 and the position of the antenna of the relay20 on the basis of an operating room image, and detects the position(spatial coordinates) of a communication path in an operating room onthe basis of the position information thereof, the position informationof the antenna of the video processor 30 input in advance in the firstembodiment. The communication status grasping unit 301 then sets thealerting area 511 for the communication path. Further, the communicationstatus grasping unit 301 detects the position (spatial coordinates) of amember of the medical staff 501 in the operating room on the basis ofthe operating room image.

For example, it is assumed that the member of the medical staff 501moves from a position 517 c to a position 517 d. The position 517 d is aposition at which the body of the member of the medical staff 501 is inthe alerting area 511 as illustrated. In this case, the communicationstatus grasping unit 301 illustrated in FIG. 3 detects the new position517 c of the member of the medical staff 501 from the updated and latestoperating room image along with the position of the antenna of theendoscope 10 and the position of the antenna of the relay. Thecommunication status grasping unit 301 then detects that the body of themember of the medical staff 501 is in the alerting area 511 at the newposition 517 d, and determines that the communication status in thecommunication path is not stable. The communication method deciding unit303 illustrated in FIG. 3 switches the wireless channel to anothercommunication path having no object in the alerting area 511 on thebasis of a result of the determination made by the communication statusgrasping unit 301.

In this way, the alerting area 511 is set for a communication path, andthe stability of the communication in the communication path isdetermined in accordance with the entry of an object to the alertingarea 511 in the first embodiment. Here, the alerting area 511 is set asthe area included in a predetermined distance from a substantiallystraight line connecting the wireless input and output points of therespective devices on the communication path. Accordingly, an objectbeginning to enter the alerting area 511 does still not hinder thewireless communication that uses the communication path. That is, theentry of an object to the alerting area 511 does not indicate that thecommunication in that communication path is actually interrupted, butthat the communication in the communication path can be interrupted.

The stability of the communication in the communication path isdetermined in accordance with the entry of an object to the alertingarea 511 in the first embodiment, thereby making it possible to predictthat the communication can be interrupted before the object actuallyinterrupt the communication, and to switch the wireless channel to acommunication path that allows for more stable communication. In thisway, the communication status grasping unit 301 illustrated in FIG. 3has a function of predicting the risk of interference withcommunication, and the communication method deciding unit 303 has afunction of selecting a more stable communication path having nointerference with the communication, on the basis of a result of theprediction. The components make it possible to more stably display asurgical site image that is not distorted than the method executed, forexample, as an existing technique for monitoring the strength or thelike of radio waves during communication and switching wirelesschannels. It is thus possible to smoothly perform an operation, and toreduce the load on a patient and a medical staff.

A communication path and the alerting area 511 may be set as appropriatein accordance with the frequency band of radio waves used for wirelesscommunication. The example illustrated in FIG. 5 assumes the use ofmillimeter waves, which have the stronger property of travelingstraight. Accordingly, the alerting areas 511 are set for substantiallystraight lines connecting the devices on the communication paths. Forexample, in a case where radio waves of a lower frequency band are used,the radio waves are predicted to diffuse more and propagate between thedevices. The alerting areas 511 may be therefore set, for example, assubstantially conical areas that gradually increase in cross-sectionalarea from the antenna of the transmitting device to the antenna of thereceiving device. In this way, in light of the frequency band or thelike of radio waves used for wireless communication, the alerting areas511 can be set as areas that include an area in which the presence of anobject can actually block the radio waves, and are larger than the area.

(2-4. Communication Control Method)

A processing procedure of a communication control method according tothe first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of thecommunication control method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates that the position of an object in an operating roomis first detected on the basis of an operating room image in thecommunication control method according to the first embodiment (stepS101). Specifically, in step S101, the positions of the wireless inputand output points (antennas) of respective devices that transmitsurgical site image information from the endoscope 10 to the videoprocessor 30, and the position of an object (such as the medical staff501 or the Mayo table 507 illustrated in FIG. 2) that can obstruct thecommunication are at least detected. However, the positions of theantennas of all the devices do not have to be necessarily detected onthe basis of the operating room image. The position information of theantennas of some of the devices such as the video processor 30 may alsobe input in advance as known data.

Next, the position of a communication path is detected on the basis ofthe position of the object detected in step S101, and an alerting areais set for the detected communication path (step S103). For example, ina case where millimeter waves are used for wireless communication, thecommunication path is detected as a substantially straight lineconnecting the antennas of the respective devices that transmit thesurgical site image information from the endoscope 10 to the videoprocessor 30, in light of the strong property of the millimeter waves totravel straight. Further, the alerting area is set as the area includedin a predetermined distance from the line of the communication path (seeFIG. 5).

The first embodiment is not, however, limited to the example. Thecommunication path may be detected on the basis of the positions of theantennas of the respective devices in light of the frequency band or thelike of radio waves used for wireless communication. Further, thealerting areas include an area in which the presence of an object canactually block radio waves, and areas larger than the area can be set asthe alerting areas 511.

Next, it is determined on the basis of the position of the objectdetected in step S101 and the alerting area set in step S103 whether theobject is in the alerting area of the communication path (step S105).

In a case where it is not determined in step S105 that the object is inthe alerting area, the series of processes according to thecommunication control method ends with no particular processes, and thecommunication of surgical site image information continues in thecommunication path. Meanwhile, in a case where it is determined in stepS105 that the object is in the alerting area, the processes proceed tostep S107.

The processes shown in step S101 to step S105 correspond to, forexample, processes performed by the communication status grasping unit301 illustrated in FIG. 3.

In step S107, another communication path is selected that is differentfrom the communication path having the object in the alerting area. Acommunication path that has no object in the alerting area and allowsfor more stable communication is selected as the other communicationpath from the communication paths detected in step S103. The wirelesschannel is then switched to the wireless channel corresponding to thecommunication path selected in step S107 (step S109). This switches thewireless channel from the communication path having the risk that anobject enters the alerting area and interrupts the communication to acommunication path that allows for more stable communication. It is thuspossible to transmit the surgical site image information to the videoprocessor 30 without the surgical site image information breaking off.

The respective processes shown in step S107 and step S109 correspond to,for example, processes performed by the communication method decidingunit 303 illustrated in FIG. 3.

The processing procedure of the communication control method accordingto the first embodiment has been described above with reference to FIG.6. The series of processes illustrated in FIG. 6 is repeatedly executedat predetermined intervals in the first embodiment. A stable surgicalsite image is thus always displayed.

3. SECOND EMBODIMENT

The second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

An alerting area is set for a communication path, and the stability ofthe communication in the communication path is determined in accordancewith the entry of an object to the alerting area in the above-describedfirst embodiment. However, for example, in a case where an object thatstands still is in an alerting area, but the object is at a position atwhich the object does not block communication, the communication pathcan be considered a communication path that allows for stablecommunication. Meanwhile, even if a moving object in an alerting area isat a position at which the object does not block communication, thecommunication path should be determined as a communication path thatdoes not allow for stable communication. This is because the influenceof the moving object on the communication path temporally depends on themovement thereof, the moving object therefore has greater influence onwireless communication that that of the object that stands still, and ina case where the moving object is in the alerting area, there is a highprobability that the stability of the communication is going to be muchweaker soon.

Even in a case where the object is in the alerting area of thecommunication path in this way, the determination of the stability ofthe communication of the communication path can be different inaccordance with whether the object is a still object or a moving object.When an object in an operating room is detected on the basis of anoperating room image, it is determined even whether the object is astill object or a moving object, and the communication status of thecommunication path is determined even in light of the motion of theobject in second embodiment. It is thus possible to more accuratelygrasp the communication status of the communication path.

The second embodiment will be described in more detail. Here, theconfiguration of a communication control system according to the secondembodiment may be similar to the configuration of the communicationcontrol system 1 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIGS.1 and 2. Further, the functional configuration of the communicationcontrol system according to the second embodiment may also be similar tothe functional configuration of the communication control system 1according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3. The secondembodiment is different from the first embodiment in the detailedfunctions of the communication status grasping unit 301 and thecommunication method deciding unit 303 of the video processor 30illustrated in FIG. 3. The following description of the secondembodiment will not thus describe in detail what is similar to that ofthe first embodiment, but differences from the first embodiment will bechiefly described.

(3-1. Details of Communication Status Grasping Process)

The communication status grasping unit 301 illustrated in FIG. 3 detectsthe positions of objects (the antenna of the endoscope 10, the antennasof the relays 20 a to 20 c, and an obstacle (a member of the medicalstaff 501) in the example illustrated in FIG. 4) in an operating room onthe basis of an operating room image in the second embodiment. At thistime, the communication status grasping unit 301 also detects even themotion of the obstacle. The communication status grasping unit 301detects a communication path on the basis of the position of the antennaof the video processor 30 provided in advance, and the detected positionof the antenna of the endoscope 10 and the detected positions of theantennas of the relays 20 a to 20 c. The communication status graspingunit 301 then grasps the communication status of the communication pathin accordance with whether the obstacle is in the communication path,even in light of the motion of the obstacle.

Here, the details of a communication status grasping process executed bythe communication status grasping unit 301 in the second embodiment,such as a criterion for determining in accordance with the motion of anobstacle whether the obstacle is in a communication path, will be morespecifically described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is anexplanatory diagram for describing the communication status graspingprocess executed by the communication status grasping unit 301 in thesecond embodiment in more detail.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates the endoscope 10, the relay 20, and thevideo processor 30. FIG. 7 simulatively illustrates communication pathsfrom the endoscope 10 to the video processor 30 via the relay 20 bysolid arrows. Further, the Mayo table 507 is illustrated as an exampleof an obstacle in an operating room.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a predetermined area including a communicationpath is set as alerting areas 511 in the second embodiment. The alertingareas 511 are similar to those set in the first embodiment. Here, inaddition to the alerting areas 511, predetermined areas that include thecommunication paths and are narrower than the alerting areas 511 are setas risk areas 515 in the second embodiment. The risk area 515 is an areain which there is a high probability that the communication is blockedin a case where the area has an object therein, and the risk area 515does not permit the presence of any object.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the areas that are included in apredetermined distance from a substantially straight line connecting theantenna of the endoscope 10 to the antenna of the relay 20, and asubstantially straight line connecting the antenna of the relay 20 tothe antenna of the video processor 30, and are narrower than thealerting areas 511 are set as the risk areas 515. FIG. 7 illustratesrisk lines 513 serving as the borders of the risk areas 515 by dashedlines that are different in type from the alerting lines 509.

The communication status grasping unit 301 illustrated in FIG. 3 detectsthe position of the antenna of the endoscope 10 and the position of theantenna of the relay 20 on the basis of an operating room image, anddetects the position (spatial coordinates) of a communication path in anoperating room on the basis of the position information thereof, theposition information of the antenna of the video processor 30 input inadvance in the second embodiment. The communication status grasping unit301 then sets the alerting area 511 and the risk area 515 for thecommunication path. Further, the communication status grasping unit 301detects the position (spatial coordinates) of the Mayo table 507 in theoperating room on the basis of the operating room image.

When detecting the position of the Mayo table 507, the communicationstatus grasping unit 301 also detects the motion of the Mayo table 507in the second embodiment. The motion information of the Mayo table 507detected by the communication status grasping unit 301 includesinformation indicating whether the Mayo table 507 stands still or ismoving. Further, in a case where the Mayo table 507 is moving, themotion information may additionally include information on the movingdirection or the moving speed. A variety of methods such as a method foracquiring the motion of an object in an image as a motion vector whichare generally used in the field of image analysis processing can be usedto detect the motion. The detailed description is not therefore madehere.

In a case where an object is in the risk area 515, the communicationstatus grasping unit 301 determines that the communication status in thecommunication path is not stable whether the object is a still object ora moving object. Further, in a case where a moving object is in thealerting area 511, the communication status grasping unit 301 alsodetermines that the communication status in the communication path isnot stable. Meanwhile, in a case where a still object is in the alertingarea 511, but is not in the risk area 515, the communication statusgrasping unit 301 determines that the communication status in thecommunication path is stable. The communication method deciding unit 303illustrated in FIG. 3 switches the wireless channel to anothercommunication path having no object in the risk area 515, and having nomoving object in the alerting area 511 on the basis of a result of thedetermination made by the communication status grasping unit 301.

Although the Mayo table 507 that is a still object is in the alertingarea 511 of the communication path in the example illustrated in FIG. 7,the Mayo table 507 is not in the risk area 515. The communication statusgrasping unit 301 thus determines that the communication status isstable in the communication path. In this case, the communication methoddeciding unit 303 does not switch the wireless channel, but thecommunication using the current communication path continues.

In this way, the alerting area 511 and the risk area 515 are set for acommunication path, the stability of the communication in thecommunication path is determined in accordance with the entry of anobject to the alerting area 511 and/or the risk area 515 even in lightof the motion of the object in the second embodiment. Thus, for example,in a case where the stability of communication is not hindered like acase where a still object is in an area that is the alerting area 511,but not the risk area 515, the communication path is not switched.According to the second embodiment, determining the stability of thecommunication in a communication path even in light of the motion of anobject improves the accuracy of the determination, and makes it possibleto secure more communication paths (i.e., candidates for switchablecommunication paths) that are determined to be stable. Further, acommunication path is switched owing to the entry of a moving object tothe alerting area 511. Accordingly, even in a case where an object thathas stood still until then suddenly moves toward a communication path,the communication is not blocked, but it is possible to continuouslyperform stable communication.

The risk areas 515 may also be set as appropriate in accordance with thefrequency band of radio waves used for wireless communication similarlyto the alerting areas 511 described with reference to FIG. 5. Theexample illustrated in FIG. 7 assumes the use of millimeter waves, whichhave the stronger property of traveling straight. Accordingly, the riskareas 515 are set for substantially straight lines connecting thedevices on the communication paths. For example, in a case where radiowaves of a lower frequency band are used, the radio waves are predictedto diffuse more and propagate between the devices. The risk areas 515may be therefore set, for example, as substantially conical areas thatgradually increase in cross-sectional area from the antenna of thetransmitting device to the antenna of the receiving device. In this way,in light of the frequency band or the like of radio waves used forwireless communication, the risk areas 515 can be set as areas thatinclude an area in which the presence of an object can actually blockthe radio waves.

(3-2. Communication Control Method)

A processing procedure of a communication control method according tothe second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of acommunication control method according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates that the position of an object in an operating roomis first detected on the basis of an operating room image in thecommunication control method according to the second embodiment (stepS201). Specifically, in step S201, the positions of the wireless inputand output points (antennas) of respective devices that transmitsurgical site image information from the endoscope 10 to the videoprocessor 30, and the position of an object (such as the medical staff501 or the Mayo table 507 illustrated in FIG. 2) that can obstruct thecommunication are at least detected. However, the positions of theantennas of all the devices do not have to be necessarily detected onthe basis of the operating room image. The position information of theantennas of some of the devices such as the video processor 30 may alsobe input in advance as known data. Further, in step S201, the motion ofthe object that can obstruct the communication can also be detected.

Next, the position of a communication path is detected on the basis ofthe position of the object detected in step S201, and an alerting areaand a risk area are set for the detected communication path (step S203).For example, in a case where millimeter waves are used for wirelesscommunication, the communication path is detected as a substantiallystraight line connecting the antennas of the respective devices thattransmit the surgical site image information from the endoscope 10 tothe video processor 30, in light of the strong property of themillimeter waves to travel straight. Further, the alerting area is setas the area that is included in a predetermined distance from the lineof the communication path, and the risk area is set as the area that isincluded in a predetermined distance from the line of the communicationpath and is narrower than the alerting area (see FIG. 7).

The second embodiment is not, however, limited to the example. Thecommunication path may be detected on the basis of the positions of theantennas of the respective devices in light of the frequency band or thelike of radio waves used for wireless communication. Further, thealerting areas include an area in which the presence of an object canactually block radio waves, and areas larger than the area can be set asthe alerting areas 511. Further, the risk area can be set as an area inwhich the presence of an object can actually block radio waves.

Next, it is determined on the basis of the position of the objectdetected in step S201 and the alerting area set in step S203 whether theobject is in the risk area of the communication path (step S205).Whether the object is a still object or a moving object, it isdetermined in step S205 whether the object is in the risk area.

In a case where it is not determined in step S205 that the object is inthe risk area, the processes proceed to step S207. In step S207, it isdetermined on the basis of the position and motion of the objectdetected in step S201, and the alerting area set in step S203 whetherthe moving object is in the alerting area of the communication path.

In a case where it is not determined in step S207 that the moving objectis in the alerting area, the series of processes according to thecommunication control method ends with no particular processes, and thetransmission of surgical site image information continues in thecommunication path. This is because the stability of the communicationin the communication path is considered strong in this case since noobject is in the risk area of the communication path, and no movingobject is in the alerting area.

Meanwhile, in a case where it is determined in step S205 that the objectis in the risk area, or in a case where it is determined in step S207that the moving object is in the alerting area, the processes proceed tostep S209.

The respective processes shown in step S201 to step S207 correspond to,for example, processes performed by the communication status graspingunit 301 illustrated in FIG. 3.

In step S209, another communication path is selected that is differentfrom the communication path having the object in the risk area or thecommunication path having the moving object in the alerting area. Acommunication path that has no object in the risk area, has no movingobject in the alerting area, and allows for more stable communication isselected as the other communication path from the communication pathsdetected in step S203. The wireless channel is then switched to thewireless channel corresponding to the communication path selected instep S209 (step S211). This switches the wireless channel from thecommunication path having the risk that an object enters the risk areaor a moving object enters the alerting area and interrupts thecommunication to a communication path that allows for more stablecommunication. It is thus possible to transmit the surgical site imageinformation to the video processor 30 without the surgical site imageinformation breaking off.

The respective processes shown in step S209 and step S211 correspond to,for example, processes performed by the communication method decidingunit 303 illustrated in FIG. 3.

The processing procedure of the communication control method accordingto the second embodiment has been described above with reference to FIG.8. The series of processes illustrated in FIG. 8 is repeatedly executedat predetermined intervals in the second embodiment. A stable surgicalsite image is thus always displayed.

4. MODIFICATIONS

Some modifications of the above-described first and second embodimentswill be described. Additionally, the above-described first and secondembodiments, and each of the following modifications may be combined tothe extent possible for realization.

(4-1. Modification of Decision Process of Communication Method)

The communication method deciding unit 303 illustrated in FIG. 3performs a process of switching a communication path to a communicationpath that allows for more stable communication in the above-describedfirst and second embodiments. The process of switching communicationpaths is, however, an example of a decision process of a communicationmethod. The decision process of a communication method performed by thecommunication method deciding unit 303 is not limited to the example.For example, the communication method deciding unit 303 may decide thefrequency band of radio waves used for the wireless communicationbetween the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30 as a communicationmethod.

As described above in (2-1. Configuration of Communication ControlSystem), millimeter waves are favorably used for the wirelesscommunication between the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30 in amanner that surgical site image information having a large amount ofdata can be transmitted fast in the first and second embodiments.Millimeter waves, however, has the relatively strong property oftraveling straight because of its high frequency band. Thus, if there isan obstacle on the straight line connecting the antennas of devices on acommunication path, there is a higher probability that the transmissionand reception of radio waves are interfered with.

Therefore, in the present modification, in a case where it is determinedthat the stability of the communication in the currently usedcommunication path is weak, the communication method deciding unit 303switches the communication standard of the wireless communicationbetween the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30 and changes thefrequency band of radio waves used for the wireless communication, forexample, to a lower frequency band of some GHz.

A variety of known communication standards may be used for the standardof wireless communication that uses radio waves of a lower frequencyband. For example, Miracast (registered trademark), WiDi (registeredtrademark), AirPlay (registered trademark), a variety of communicationstandards that use the ultra wide band (UWB) scheme, WHDI (registeredtrademark), or the like can be used for wireless communication fortransferring image information with a lower frequency band. Further, notlimited to the transfer use of image information, what complies with therespective standards such as IEEE 802.11b/a/g/j/n/ac, TransferJet(registered trademark), or the like may be used for wirelesscommunication that uses radio waves of a lower frequency band.

Radio waves having a lower frequency band have the weaker property oftraveling straight than that of millimeter waves. Accordingly, even in acase where there is an obstacle on the line between the antennas ofdevices on a communication path, the radio waves can propagate betweenthe antennas by diffracting around the obstacle. More stablecommunication can be thus realized. Even in a case where radio waveshaving a low frequency band are used like the present modification, thestability of the communication in a communication path may be determinedin accordance with the entry of an object to an alerting area or a riskarea similarly to the above-described first or second embodiment.

In this way, according to the present modification, for example, in acase where it is determined that there is an obstacle on a communicationpath, and it is difficult for wireless communication using millimeterwaves to assure stable communication, the communication standard usedfor the wireless communication is changed in a manner that wirelesscommunication using radio waves of a lower frequency band, which havethe weaker property of traveling straight, is performed. Thus, even in acase where there is an obstacle on a communication path, it is possibleto more stably perform communication.

However, in a case where radio waves of a low frequency band are used,it can be difficult to perform fast communication for a high-resolutionimage. Thus, in a case where the communication standard is switched in amanner that radio waves of a lower frequency band are used, imageprocessing for making the resolution of the surgical site image lowermay be performed as appropriate to reduce the amount of data so as tocause no delay during communication before the surgical site imageinformation is transmitted from the endoscope 10.

Additionally, the processes performed by the communication methoddeciding unit 303 according to the present modification may be executedinstead of the processes performed by the communication method decidingunit 303 according to the above-described first or second embodiment, orin combination with the processes performed by the communication methoddeciding unit 303 according to the above-described first or secondembodiment. That is, in a case where it is determined that the stabilityof the communication in the currently used communication path is weak,the frequency band of the radio waves alone may be changed, or thecommunication path may be switched to a more stable communication pathhaving no obstacle thereon and the frequency band of the radio waves maybe changed.

(4-2. Modification of Position for Disposing Operating Room Camera)

The operating room camera 40 is installed at a position such as theceiling of an operating room at which the operating room camera 40 looksdown on the operating room as illustrated in FIG. 2 in theabove-described first and second embodiments. The position for disposingthe operating room camera 40 is not, however, limited to the example.The operating room camera 40 may be disposed at any position as long asthe antenna of the endoscope 10 and the antenna of the relay 20 areincluded at least within the image capturing range.

For example, the operating room camera 40 may also be provided to eachrelay 20 instead of the operating room camera 40 provided at a positionat which the operating room camera 40 looks down on the operating room,or in combination with the operating room camera 40 provided at aposition at which the operating room camera 40 looks down on theoperating room. In this case, the operating room camera 40 can beinstalled in each relay 20 to include, within the image capturing range,the endoscope 10 and the relay 20 other than the relay 20 in which theoperating room camera 40 itself is installed.

The communication status grasping unit 301 illustrated in FIG. 3 candetect, from an operating room image from the certain operating roomcamera 40, the position of the antenna of the endoscope 10, the positionof the antenna of another one of the relays 20, and the position of anobstacle as the relative positions from the operating room camera 40.The relative position of an object from each relay 20 in the operatingroom can be detected on the basis of an operating room image from eachoperating room camera 40 provided to each relay 20. Accordingly, thecommunication status grasping unit 301 can detect the position of theantenna of the endoscope 10, the positions of the antennas of the relays20, and the position of the obstacle as the absolute spatial coordinatesby integrating the detected position information. The communicationstatus grasping unit 301 can thus grasp the communication status of eachcommunication path similarly to a case where the operating room camera40 is installed at a position at which the operating room camera 40looks down on an operating room.

(4-3. Notification of Communication Path)

The communication control system 1 according to the above-describedfirst and second embodiments may further has a function of notifying amedical staff in an operating room of information on the graspedcommunication status between the endoscope 10 and the video processor 30by the communication status grasping unit 301. For example, the videoprocessor 30 can have this notification function of the notificationunit. The notification unit may notify a medical staff, for example, ofthe currently used communication path as the communication status.Further, the notification unit may notify a medical staff of, forexample, each communication path in an operating room as thecommunication status. On the basis of the information of which themedical staff is notified, the medical staff can pay attention to themotion or the disposition of instruments, for example, in a manner thatall the communication paths are not blocked.

For example, the relay 20 may include a lamp such as a light emittingdiode (LED) as a means of notifying a medical staff of the currentlyused communication path, and the notification unit may perform controlto turn on the lamp of the relay 20 currently functioning as thecommunication path. Further, for example, a display device such as amonitor may be additionally provided in an operating room to indicatethe status of a communication path, and the notification unit maydisplay a line or the like indicating the currently used communicationpath on the display unit along with a sketch of the operating room.Further, for example, to notify a medical staff of each communicationpath in an operating room, the notification unit may display a line orthe like indicating another communication path on the display device forindicating the status of the communication path along with a lineindicating the currently used communication path.

5. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

The preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure has/have beendescribed above with reference to the accompanying drawings, whilst thepresent disclosure is not limited to the above examples. A personskilled in the art may find various alterations and modifications withinthe scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that theywill naturally come under the technical scope of the present disclosure.

Further, the effects described in this specification are merelyillustrative or exemplified effects, and are not limitative. That is,with or in the place of the above effects, the technology according tothe present disclosure may achieve other effects that are clear to thoseskilled in the art from the description of this specification.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1)

A communication control device including:

a communication status grasping unit configured to grasp a communicationstatus of wireless communication of image information between an imageshooting device and a surgical site image information acquiring unit onthe basis of an operating room image showing a situation of an operatingroom, the image shooting device capturing an image of a surgical site ofa patient, the surgical site image information acquiring unit acquiringinformation on a surgical site image captured by the image shootingdevice for display control of the surgical site image; and

a communication method deciding unit configured to decide acommunication method between the image shooting device and the surgicalsite image information acquiring unit on the basis of the graspedcommunication status.

(2)

The communication control device according to (1), wherein

the communication status grasping unit grasps stability of communicationin communication paths between the image shooting device and thesurgical site image information acquiring unit as the communicationstatus, and

the communication method deciding unit selects, as the communicationmethod, a communication path that allows for more stable communicationfrom the communication paths.

(3)

The communication control device according to (2), wherein

the communication status grasping unit grasps a status of thecommunication path by detecting, on the basis of the operating roomimage, positions of antennas that form the communication path, and aposition of an obstacle that obstructs transmission and reception of aradio wave between the antennas.

(4)

The communication control device according to (3),

the communication paths exist between the image shooting device and thesurgical site image information acquiring unit, the communication pathsincluding the communication path that passes through a relay and thecommunication path that does not pass through the relay, the relayrelaying the wireless communication between the image shooting deviceand the surgical site image information acquiring unit, and

the communication status grasping unit at least detects a position of anantenna of the image shooting device and a position of an antenna of therelay as the positions of the antennas on the basis of the operatingroom image, the antennas forming the communication path.

(5)

The communication control device according to any one of (2) to (4),wherein

the communication status grasping unit detects that an obstacle thatobstructs the communication between the image shooting device and thesurgical site image information acquiring unit enters a first areaincluding the communication path, and

the communication method deciding unit selects, as the communicationpath that allows for more stable communication, the communication pathother than the communication path that the obstacle enters.

(6)

The communication control device according to (5), wherein

the communication status grasping unit detects that the obstacle entersat least one of the first area and a second area that includes thecommunication path and is narrower than the first area, and

in a case where the obstacle that is a still object or a moving objectenters the second area, or in a case where the obstacle that is themoving object enters the first area, the communication method decidingunit selects, as the communication path that allows for more stablecommunication, the communication path other than the communication paththat the obstacle enters.

(7)

The communication control device according to any one of (2) to (6),wherein

a millimeter wave is used for the wireless communication between theimage shooting device and the surgical site image information acquiringunit, and

the communication path is a substantially straight path connectingantennas that transmit and receive the millimeter wave.

(8)

The communication control device according to any one of (1) to (7),wherein

the operating room image is acquired by an operating room cameraprovided at a position at which the operating room camera looks down onthe operating room.

(9)

The communication control device according to any one of (1) to (7),wherein

the operating room image is acquired by an operating room cameraprovided to a relay that relays the wireless communication between theimage shooting device and the surgical site image information acquiringunit.

(10)

The communication control device according to any one of (1) to (9),wherein

the communication status grasping unit grasps stability of communicationin a communication path between the image shooting device and thesurgical site image information acquiring unit as the communicationstatus, and

the communication method deciding unit changes, as the communicationmethod, a frequency band of a radio wave used for the wirelesscommunication between the image shooting device and the surgical siteimage information acquiring unit to a frequency band that allows formore stable communication.

(11)

The communication control device according to (10), wherein

the communication method deciding unit selects a frequency band lowerthan a millimeter wave band as the frequency band that allows for morestable communication.

(12)

The communication control device according to any one of (1) to (11),wherein

the image shooting device is an endoscope.

(13)

The communication control device according to any one of (1) to (12),further including:

a notification unit configured to notify a user of the communicationstatus of the wireless communication between the image shooting deviceand the surgical site image information acquiring unit.

(14)

A communication control method including, by a processor:

grasping a communication status of wireless communication of imageinformation between an image shooting device and a surgical site imageinformation acquiring unit on the basis of an operating room imageshowing a situation of an operating room, the image shooting devicecapturing an image of a surgical site of a patient, the surgical siteimage information acquiring unit acquiring information on a surgicalsite image captured by the image shooting device for display control ofthe surgical site image; and

deciding a communication method between the image shooting device andthe surgical site image information acquiring unit on the basis of thegrasped communication status.

(15)

A program for causing a processor of a computer to execute:

a function of grasping a communication status of wireless communicationof image information between an image shooting device and a surgicalsite image information acquiring unit on the basis of an operating roomimage showing a situation of an operating room, the image shootingdevice capturing an image of a surgical site of a patient, the surgicalsite image information acquiring unit acquiring information on asurgical site image captured by the image shooting device for displaycontrol of the surgical site image; and

a function of deciding a communication method between the image shootingdevice and the surgical site image information acquiring unit on thebasis of the grasped communication status.

(16)

A communication control system including:

an operating room camera configured to capture an operating room imageshowing a situation of an operating room;

an image shooting device configured to capture an image of a surgicalsite of a patient; and

a communication control device including a surgical site imageinformation acquiring unit configured to acquire information on asurgical site image captured by the image shooting device for displaycontrol of the surgical site image, a communication status grasping unitconfigured to grasp a communication status of wireless communication ofimage information between the image shooting device and the surgicalsite image information acquiring unit on the basis of the operating roomimage, and a communication method deciding unit configured to decide acommunication method between the image shooting device and the surgicalsite image information acquiring unit on the basis of the graspedcommunication status.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 communication control system-   10 endoscope (image shooting device)-   20 relay-   30 video processor (display control device, communication control    device)-   40 operating room camera-   101 surgical site image information transmitting unit-   201 surgical site image information transmitting and receiving unit-   301 operating room image information transmitting unit-   303 communication status grasping unit-   305 communication method deciding unit-   401 operating room image information acquiring unit-   511 alerting area-   515 risk area

1. A communication control device, comprising: processing circuitryconfigured to obtain position information indicating a position of atransmitter, a receiver and objects in a space, wherein the objectsinclude at least one human, select a first communication path betweenthe transmitter and the receiver of a plurality of wirelesscommunication paths based on the position information so that wirelesscommunication is stable between the transmitter and the receiver,switch, based on a communication status of the first communication path,a millimeter wave band to a lower frequency wave band than themillimeter wave.
 2. The communication control device according to claim1, wherein the objects include at least one of stands or devices in thespace.
 3. The communication control device according to claim 1, whereinthe processing circuitry is further configured to switch the firstcommunication path to a second communication path when the objects arepresent between the receiver and the transmitter.
 4. The communicationcontrol device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter wirelesslytransmits an image captured by a device coupled to the transmitter or tothe receiver.
 5. The communication control device according to claim 1,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to performprocessing to reduce an amount of data of the image when the lowerfrequency wave band is used.
 6. The communication control deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to determine whether an area defined based on the position ofthe transmitter and the receiver include the objects, and switch thefirst communication path to a second communication path when the objectsare present in the area.
 7. The communication control device accordingto claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured toobtain moving information indicating a moving of the objects and selecta first communication path between the transmitter and the receiver ofthe plurality of wireless communication paths based on the positioninformation and the moving information.
 8. The communication controldevice according to claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to determine whether the objects are present in the areabased on a sensing data of the space.
 9. The communication controldevice according to claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to determine whether the objects are present in the areabased on imaging data of the space.
 10. The communication control deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein the imaging data is captured by a roomcamera.
 11. The communication control device according to claim 8,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determinewhether the objects are an obstacle for the wireless communication basedon the sensing data.
 12. The communication control device to claim 1,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to control adisplay to display a room map and a communication path used forconnection between the transmitter and the receiver.
 13. Thecommunication control device to claim 1, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to control a repeater, used forconnection between the transmitter and the receiver, to turn on a lampof the repeater.
 14. The communication control device according to claim4, wherein the image is an endoscope image captured by an endoscopesystem.
 15. A communication control method performed by processingcircuitry of a communication control device, the method comprising:obtaining position information indicating a position of a transmitter, areceiver and objects in a space, wherein the objects include at leastone human, selecting a first communication path between the transmitterand the receiver of a plurality of wireless communication paths based onthe position information so that wireless communication is stablebetween the transmitter and the receiver, switching, based on acommunication status of the first communication path, a millimeter waveband to a lower frequency wave band than the millimeter wave.
 16. Acommunication control system comprising: a device including processingcircuitry configured to: obtain position information indicating aposition of a transmitter, a receiver and objects in a space, whereinthe objects include at least one human, select a first communicationpath between the transmitter and the receiver of a plurality of wirelesscommunication paths based on the position information so that wirelesscommunication is stable between the transmitter and the receiver,switch, based on a communication status of the first communication path,a millimeter wave band to a lower frequency wave band than themillimeter wave.
 17. The communication control system according to claim16, wherein the device is medical device.
 18. The communication controlsystem according to claim 16, wherein the space is a surgical room. 19.The communication control system according to claim 16, wherein theobjects include at least one of stands or devices in the space.
 20. Thecommunication control system according to claim 16, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to switch the firstcommunication path to a second communication path when the objects arepresent between the receiver and the transmitter.